According to Stackoverflow’s 2021 Developer Survey, JavaScript is the most used language for the eighth consecutive year, with 67.7% of people choosing it. The main reason for this popularity is that JavaScript is versatile and can use for front-end and back-end development and testing websites or web applications.
If you google “JavaScript framework,” you will find many JavaScript frameworks, each with its advantages and uses. Because there are so many choices of JavaScript frameworks for front-end, back-end development, or even testing, it can be challenging to choose the right one to suit your needs.
It can be tough to find the proper framework for your needs. In this article on the best JavaScript frameworks for 2021, I’ve used StateOfJS 2019, Stackoverflow’s Developer Survey 2021, and NPM trends to compile a list of the best JavaScript frameworks for front-end, back-end, and testing that can help you with this.
Front-end JavaScript frameworks
JavaScript has been widely using for the front-end development for almost two decades. Famous structures such as React, Vue, and Angular have gained a vast legion of followers, while recently, some new competitors have found success in challenging the big 3. Here are the six best front-end frameworks in 2021 -.
1| React.js
The first place in our ranking of the best JavaScript frameworks for 2021 in the front-end category is React.js. React.js is an open-source front-end JavaScript library (not a full-fledged framework) created in 2011 by a team of Facebook developers led by Jordan Walke and became open-source in June 2013. The prototype was called “FaxJS” and was the first test in the Facebook News Feed. React can be regarded as one of the biggest disruptors in the web development industry, and it was a real breakthrough in shaping the web applications we see today.
React introduced a component-driven, functional and declarative programming style for creating interactive user interfaces for mainly single-page web applications. React offers ultra-fast rendering using a “virtual DOM” that renders only the parts that have changed, rather than causing the entire page. Another essential feature of React is the use of a simpler JSX syntax instead of JavaScript.
Although learning React is a bit more complicated than the other best front-end JavaScript frameworks on this list, React supports by a vast developer community, rich learning resources, and massive adoption in every corner of the world.
React consistently tops the popularity charts for front-end JavaScript frameworks, whether it’s the Stack Overflow Developer Survey or the State OF JS Survey. React has always won the crown as the favorite front-end JavaScript framework. The world’s biggest companies and brands like Airbnb, Facebook, Instagram, Netflix, Twitter, WhatsApp, and many more built with React. It would not be wrong to assume that React.js is arguably the best JavaScript framework.
2 | Vue.js
Vue.js is a lightweight, open-source JavaScript framework used to build creative user interfaces and high-performance single-page web applications with minimal effort.
Vue was first announced in 2014 by Evan Yu, a Google developer who took inspiration from Angular to provide a simple, lightweight, and efficient alternative in the form of Vue.js. Vue takes much of its functionality from React and Angular but has significantly improved those features to provide a better, easier to use, and more secure framework. The best example of this approach is Vue’s provision of bi-directional data binding, as seen in Angular, and ‘Virtual DOM,’ as seen in React.
Similarly, Vue is very flexible, allowing it to function as a complete end-to-end framework, like Angular, as well as a stateful view layer, like React. Thus Vue’s main advantage is its progressive nature, which is simpler, more accessible, and less restrictive to adapt to developers’ needs. In the last two years, Vue has exploded in popularity, displacing the angular and complex dominance of React as the best JavaScript framework. Some of the world’s biggest companies, such as Adobe, Apple, BMW, Louis Vuitton, and Nintendo, have adopted Vue.
3 | Angular
In third place in the Best JavaScript Frameworks of 2021 category is Angular.js, Google’s open-source, script-based framework used to create the client-side of a single-page web application. Angular was created in 2010 by Google engineers Misko Hevery and Adam Abrons as AngularJS (or Angular 1). AngularJS was widely known and at the height of its popularity, but the advent of React exposed its serious flaws, and it has been relegated to oblivion. As a result, AngularJS was rewritten entirely from scratch and Angular 2 (or simply Angular) in 2016.
AngularJS (Angular 1) took inspiration from React. They made significant changes, the most important of which was moving from an M-V-W (Model-View-Whatever) architecture to a component-oriented architecture like React to a component-based architecture like React. Today Angular is an example of the most secure JavaScript frameworks for building enterprise applications; over a million websites use Angular, including Google, Forbes, IBM, and Microsoft.
4| Emberjs
Fourth place in the front-end category of the Best JavaScript Frameworks 2021 list goes to Ember.js. It is an open-source JavaScript framework. Unlike the other frameworks we have reviewed, Ember uses the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVW) architectural.
Ember was originally a SproutCore 2.0 framework that was renamed Ember.js by Yehuda Katz, a veteran developer who is considered one of the leading creators of jQuery. Ember’s most popular and essential features are the Ember command-line interface, which is itself very powerful. Ember’s most popular and essential features are the Ember command-line interface, a powerful productivity tool.
Ember is one of the older JavaScript frameworks compared to React, Vue, and Svelte, but it still has a large user base at big companies like Microsoft, LinkedIn, Netflix, and Twitch. It has many users in its customer base. Old friends like Backbone and Polymer have disappeared, but Amber has somehow managed to hang on to Fort through a passionate community.
5| Preact.js
At number five in the front-end category of our list of the best JavaScript frameworks for 2021 is Preact.js. Preact.js is a lightweight, fast and powerful alternative to React (it’s not a complete framework). Jason Miller created preact, Senior Developer Programs Engineer at Google, and used several developers as a subset of React. Jason Miller made preact, Senior Developer Programs Engineer at Google, and is used by several developers as a subset of React, with some features stripped out.
Preact.js base on the same basic principles as React, a component-based approach using Virtual Dom while fully compatible with React
You can also use React packages without compromising on speed, performance, and lean size. Unless you need the full potential of React, most developers will use Preact during development and even switch to Preact in production. There are many large companies use Preact, including Tencent, Uber, and Lyft.
Conclusion
These are not even remotely all of the frameworks available for Javascript front-end development, but they do make up the bulk of such frameworks currently in use. As Javascript capabilities continue to evolve (through the ECMAscript process), so too will the likely migration of framework capabilities into the core.
